Cherrytree Records knows what music fans want ? because it listens to them, says its head, Martin Kierszenbaum
It's Monday evening and the Kings College London Students' Union is buzzing. Chart-topping acts such as LMFAO (whose show includes beer guzzling and a man wearing a box on his head) and Far East Movement perform riotous sets; UK artists Frankmusik and up-and-coming pop star Natalia Kills (who used to be an actor in The Archers) work the crowd, and Ellie Goulding gets up to do an acoustic number.
In the midst of it all Martin Kierszenbaum, head of Cherrytree Records, is running around getting boxes of pizza for audience members arriving early, burning a CD of backing tracks for an artist who forgot to bring hers, introducing the acts on stage ? and even accompanying one of them on the keyboard. Not the usual behaviour of a record executive responsible for signing a multitude of performers currently riding high around the world, and for breaking European acts such as Robyn, La Roux and Goulding in the States.
Maybe it's because Kierszenbaum is a songwriter and producer that he prefers to be this hands-on with his artists. Having had his first major hit with tATu's All the Things She Said in 2002, he went on to co-write and produce five of the tracks on Lady Gaga's The Fame ? including the title number ? as well as producing Sting and co-writing and producing songs for many of the artists on his roster.
Juggling running a label with making music isn't easy. Amanda Ghost famously had real difficulties and ended up parting ways with Epic amid some very negative press coverage, and Rick Rubin has come in for some criticism for his running of Columbia. But Kierszenbaum seems to have the balance right. He doesn't write with the artists on his label unless they ask him to. "I usually only contribute one song to each album, as I don't have time to do more," he says. "Some people think you can write a song in 10 minutes. That's like when people say: 'A CD only costs 86c to make.' Oh yeah? Why don't you go buy a blank CD? What about the music on it? That took producers, arrangers and writers who have practised for years."
Does being a songwriter help in his record label job? "It doesn't make you spot great songs any better. Spotting great songs is a separate skill that you need to hone by making mistakes. I didn't use to be as good at recognising my internal barometer. When something moved me I would either not notice it, ignore it or over-analyse it. When you do trust it and it works, you'll recognise that feeling when you have it again."
Being a musician does help, however, when it comes to communicating with artists. When Kierszenbaum first met Far East Movement he told them they didn't have their sound down. "A lot of bands would go 'Screw you!' but they got together with the production team Stereotypes and devised this electro hip-hop sound, making them the first Asian-American act to go to No 1 in the US with Like a G6."
Not all of Cherrytree's acts have such instant success, though. UK artists who want to break America have to be ready to spend a lot of time there. La Roux only had a top-five hit after five US tours. Frankmusik relocated to LA after his debut album failed to set the charts alight in the UK. Kierszenbaum laments today's pressure for immediate success. "Some of our favourite bands through the years took two or three albums to break," he says. "Sure, there is pressure to succeed. It is a commercial venture, after all. But we have less pressure because Jimmy Iovine [chairman of Interscope, of which Cherrytree is an imprint] has such a great track record and he's such a visionary that he gets a bit more time. He can say: 'This Robin Thicke record didn't work so we're going to try another one, and then another one' ? and then, eight years later, he sells a million records."
Kierszenbaum maintains that Cherrytree functions like an indie, even though it's inside a major, and what makes the label different is its constant contact with the fans. Online platforms such as Cherrytree Radio play a vital part in its mission to bring the mainstream to what he calls pop-alternative music. These platforms do not only promote Cherrytree artists. The radio station, programmed by Kierszenbaum, plays plenty of artists who aren't signed to the label, while the label's site features interviews with outside people contributing to pop music, such as Glee music producer Adam Anders (there's a RedOne interview coming up), and a live lounge called the Cherrytree House (also featuring non-Cherrytree artists). "Some of my colleagues are a bit freaked out about that, but think about it ? it's all kind of one thought. I get up in the morning and I listen to music, I go on the internet and I look at the charts. I love pop music. When I find a band I love but can't sign them because they're already signed to someone else I put them on Cherrytree Radio. I love Hurts, so I play them. If we promote good pop music and the kids invest in that, I think it's going to help all of us. "
Kierszenbaum communicates with fans on the site every day, asking what they want and how they want it, and says they are very vocal about their requirements. Robyn's "three albums in a year project" came about through fan feedback, and Kierszenbaum says their increasing demands for new content have influenced the kind of artists he signs, gravitating towards DIY artists who are quick and have "honed their craft to the point that they're in the zone".
"There are a lot of positives about the internet ? once we get the stealing thing figured out," he says. "By the way, I think musicians do better when they're getting paid. Their output improves. I'm all about paying musicians, because I think we get the best music that way."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/jun/17/behind-music-cherrytree-records-kierszenbaum
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